I recently sat down with Merv and Vern to discuss their upcoming Canadian tour. Don’t miss the tour kick off September 5th at Ritual!
The last time I sat down to chat with Silvergun & Spleen, they had recently released their latest disc Semi Truck. Fast forward almost a year, and the band is ready to set out on a hectic 50 date cross Canada tour! It’s definitely exciting times for the band.
They wish they could have done a full tour after the release of Semi Truck, but it just wasn’t possible, mainly due to lack of funding. Instead they had to make due with a handful of dates.
Almost a year later, things have finally fallen into place. Silvergun & Spleen will be heading all the way to BC, then reversing course and driving all the way to Nova Scotia, before finally returning home. 50 dates over 2 1/2 months. There won’t be too many days off, and they have been reserved for some of the longer drives.
The last few months have been spent planning the tour. According to Vern, “We’ve been doing a lot of things that aren’t even music related for the last few months. We’ve been doing 13-16 hour days 7 days a week booking this tour.” Merv added, “We basically did it ourselves. The venues were easy to find. It was the bands that were hard to find. We had to do a lot of research. Contact them and wait for them to get back to you. At least now we know all these Canadian bands.”
Between scheduling and travelling “we just barely made it work,” stated Merv. “The guys had to be back at work on Monday, November 18th. The 16th, we play Halifax and then we have the 17th to drive home and the guys have no time to rest!”
The band released a video for Crack earlier this year, for which they’ve gotten a good response. “Maybe not so well in the furry community,” joked Merv.
They’ve also spent a lot of time working on getting their music heard across the country. Part of those efforts involved a small radio tour. “The radio tour was an expensive venture but necessary. Generally with new bands radio stations are pretty hesitant to play you if you are not touring and playing in the area. It helps build relationships and helps you stand out from the crowd trying to be heard,” shared Merv.
With all the pieces in place, and hopefully their suitcases packed, Silvergun & Spleen are finally ready to hit the road and enjoy some of the benefits of their hard work. As we chatted, you could tell they were just itching to get the tour started. “We’re so excited to get to play with all these cool bands,” said Vern.
The tour kicks off tonight (September 5th) with a show at Ritual. Joining them will be The Lionyls, The Superlative and The Ginger Fox Band. Tickets are only $10.
Head on out for a great night of local music. It will be at least a few months before you’ll get to catch Silvergun & Spleen on an Ottawa stage again!
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